What is it about asari?

…like a_prom, I'd think I'd know by now if that worked. I spend enough time at Authority, after all. ;)

As someone for who biotics were especially relevant- no, we store eezo much the same way as every other species- it's spread out throughout our bodies.

And huh. That stuff about social cues makes sense.

I've been interested in the subject for a few years, and I must say that I'm very skeptical about the social cue theory, for a simple reason : salarians.
Those fine people didn't even know they had a sex drive before meeting the asari! There has got to be something more.
A famous batarian xenobiologist said that the asari emitted a low, subconscious version of that mind melding thing to people they met, and that it works by taking advantage on our only real common point : Sentience. The brain structure of almost all sentient species have some common points.
So when you first interact asaris, according to that theory they unconsciously interact with your brain and make them desirable, although as Mr Aleksanders pointed out, it does not always work.
Once the brain is slightly remapped to decide asaris are hot, it still reacts to images of them for instance.
By that theory a member of a species that really doesn't look much like the asari and wouldn't find their body shape attractive, like the krogan, would show no interest to them before first meeting one. It's actually a phenomenon that was observed, but no formal galactic studies were performed yet.

Ow, man. That's another Omega theory for you.

Bintar, it's not like that and if it is, even we have no idea about it. That matter has been studied by asari for two millennia now - and I assume the STG archives are full with salarian secret reports on this as well. We do not 'remap' your brains. That's just hilarious.

Granted, the connection between Eezo and dark matter is something where our science still is lagging but then, every biotic could be like that, but that's not the case. I like to think it really has social reasons or is most likely a combination of a lot of factors.

Fair point, but I think you're over-simplifying the salarian perspective a bit. It's not a case of 'before encountering the asari', salarians still don't have a biological sex drive, as we'd understand the term. That doesn't mean there aren't other factors in play, which can be influenced by our 'friendliness', attraction of one sort or another based on motives unrelated to sexual desire - friendship, companionship, curiosity, sensual stimulation (just because it's not a 'sex drive' thing doesn't mean salarians can't derive pleasure from physical means - to pick a very mundane simile that nonetheless touches on the point, have you ever had a really divine bath, one that just feels so good?) In purely biological terms, sexual attraction outside one's own species is always a matter of biology being tricked into associating companionship with a partner outside what nature equipped a person to desire.

Besides which, there's culture to take into consideration again. There's never been a conflict, that might generate resistance, between either our or salarian reproductive instincts and the concept of cross-species reproduction - salarians being our first contact, nobody knew whether any non-asari species we might encounter would harbour sexual desire as we perceived it for one another, so the relationship models that formed were quite distinct, it was never a case of a salarian partner (for us) replacing an asari partner, in terms of how we engaged emotionally and sexually and spiritually. Asari bonded to salarians would still engage in sexual relationships with other asari, salarians (as is the case to the present day) continued to conduct their reproductive cycles without pause, even if one selected to fertilise had an asari mate. Being attracted to an asari - emotionally, physically for the pleasurable experience, the thrill, for companionship, out of mutual respect, deriving satisfaction from pleasing a person you regard with (non-sexual) affection - has had a long time to become 'normal' in the Union (remember the respective lifespans: by the time the Hearthstone II brought Thessia's first proper ambassadorial team to Sur'Kesh, to replace the interim representatives who'd been conducting matters while policy was still being debated at home, the salarians who met their shuttles on the landing pad had learned about us from infancy). Even without any overriding instinct driving you, it's easy to give something a try - if it seems like it might be fun, or rewarding, or just on a whim - when it's seen as normal.

I really do think that's all there is to it - there's nothing creating a facsimile of sexual desire, causing a reaction in salarians akin to a sex drive. It's just a lot of more 'mundane' factors coming together. (For which I'm grateful, otherwise I'd be a grandfather, great-grandfather, and so on short of existing.)

Daia, you're beating me to it, so yes, Mr. ranak, what she said. Bing the daughter of a salarian I had first hand experience of a quite affectionate relationship. I always thought the salarians to take real pleasure out of feeding their curiosity. Scientifically they are very advanced as we all know, they have a real predisposition for science the way they think things through.
Sharing his life with an asari mate was a lifelong experience of feeding my dad's curiosity. Salarian 'love' is a different kind of affection as the love of an asari but in a way they fit together as we both enjoy exploring ourselves and others. Not all species have these extreme tendencies on a wider scale.

Ah, well. I've been there only once so far and have yet to see such a display. I didn't run across you though. Maybe next time!

To be fair, the materials and the research he's had at hand have probably been Hegemony. And the politics might have distorted the speculations, you know? The original theory is probably a perfectly sound one, especially given how long the batarians have been out of touch.

I mean, I can see some batarian researchers suggesting the theory that there's some minor mental influence going on, like the way in which many races release mild pheromones, and then the political leaders say "so what you're telling us is that the Asari Empire is maintained through mind control?" And even though the researcher starts saying "no, that's not really what I was saying at all", it's too late, it's all over the Hegemony feeds: SCIENCE DEMONSTRATES ASARI INFLUENCE BRAINS".

I mean, science tends to serve politics and ideology in that sort of society, even more than most.

Yes the study was quite clear on that, this would be a subconscious phenomenons.
And I didn't mean to be inflammatory, the study didn't suggest it was a mind control thing, or a conspiracy. But you have to admit that this link exist since reproduction is based on it. I don't think it's that crazy to think it does other stuff.

Maybe you don't see how hard to believe it is for a non-asari, because you have a different view of other sentients, but for us it's very, very surprising to see salarians and krogans and elcor attracted to asari who look nothing like them. The idea that it's entirely due to a natural affinity for cross-species interactions is just too out there.

Again, not trying to offend anyone here.

I don't feel offended, don't worry. It's just thoroughly investigated and never proven. I would think someone would have liked to make this work as a sort of mind weapon some time in history if this was anything substantial.

For the love of the Wheel, learn to split a sentence. The first segment of that monstrosity is already long enough; to add a semicolon (and an even longer clause) is an affront to Chrach, Nike and the Turian Spirits of Communicative Clarity.

Second, don’t butter yourself up. Your ability to “make everyone like you” through mental and societal hacks didn’t somehow make you almighty peace-bearers. In fact, your “diplomacy” (or should we say “stall tactics”) as been the source of trouble as much as it’s been the solution. Need I remind you of the colony of Horpenti, which suffered two famines, a civil war and its complete financial collapse while you quibbled about fertilizer import tax? Or how about the prison colony of Durecea? Do a quick extranet search. Learn how Councilwoman Curen tried to conceal a “home” for purebloods, and drew an immigration suit out for twenty years before being caught on holo calling the inhabitants “undeserving, filthy whores.”

And on the other side of bridge, let’s not forget about the Three Arms’ War of [512 B.C.E], also known as “The Reason the Republics Keep their Justicars on a Leash.”* Truly, only an asari can have both infinite and zero patience. Just imagine how different the universe would be if Umata hadn’t killed Dalatrass Tormin on tax evasion charges.

It's a bad habit of mine, I know. I like the lyricism of the flowing sentence, but I need periodic reminders that it doesn't combine all that well with translation into non-Thessian tongues.

I didn't say it did, nor that we can make 'everyone' like us. Just that, on average, we tend to come across as more friendly and approachable than a given baseline for other species - that was the original question, why are asari more often considered attractive cross-species than others. Clearly it happens (I've made a career out of it), I'm just putting forward my belief as to why. And I'm not sure I'd agree with your other point - everyone has high and low points, and a number of dismal failures over the centuries, but I'd argue in the long run our methods of diplomacy, while not perfect (what is?), has served us and our neighbours a lot better than any the alternatives might have.

I only know a few Asari. I find a few of them very attractive, but it's personality and confidence over looks.
I'm not saying looks don't matter, far from it, but I like confidence and wisdom-in-action.

Well, asari certainly have one of those qualities.

Because the fact that I still prefer males of virtually any race over asari means that I just haven't been brainwashed hard enough. Instead of being indicative that I might, you know, just not be attracted to women; yes even blue biotic women.

Like, for example, most homosexual men, most heterosexual women, and every non-xenophile.


Ah. There we go.

XD

I was joking about that, they keep displays like that out of the main club.

And sure- I was heading there this weekend, actually. ;)


Ultimately, I think the people saying 'if something fishy was going on, we'd have found something by now' have the right idea. And the social cues idea makes a lot of sense- a sense of attraction to otherness is pretty prevalent in asari cultures, after all (and the fact that travel and love are often linked in ancient Thessian religion is rather telling).

Oh, bummer. I think I have to get second level access then! Maybe you know the people to talk to?

But okay, I think I can make it this weekend, let's see each other there!

@Mr Aleksander : Again you seem to consider that the source of asari attractiveness is the usual sexual characteristics, which humans and other asaroid associate as females, and which you don't find attractive.
It makes sense until you consider the other species who share little to no physical resemblance to asari and still find them attractive. Take the elcors for instance. If the only source of asari seduction was a passing resemblance to asaroid female, almost no elcor would show interest in them, passing the very few xenophile. This is not at all what we observe. Or by the same logic the people who are attracted by asari should have a similar attraction to female from asaroid species, which is rarely observed.
But it's not everyone that is affected either, as you show. What is the exact role your physical preferences play in that I do not know.
Basically, xenophilia is pretty rare, but goes through the roof when it is about asari. I can't imagine that the reason is only social in nature.
I'm actually very surprised by the reactions in the thread, I thought that the asari's ability to appear seductive to other species was at the very least unusual.

About the doctor's theory, they were definitely used by hegemony propaganda in a "keep aliens away from us!" fashion, but himself likened this phenomenon to an equivalent of pheromones that would cross the biological differences of sentient species.

Going off your own argument that the sexual characteristics of asari are secondary at best with regards to why people find them attractive, given my long term exposure to the race I should, by your reasoning, find them as visually pleasing as everyone else (apparently) does. After all, they have as much in common with what I normally like as they do with what your average elcor male normally likes.

And yet, I don't, so, to follow your...I suppose I do have to call it reasoning to the logical conclusion, obviously something must have gone wrong with the unconscious sexual reconditioning.

It goes without saying that I find this notion both personally offensive and moderately retarded; much like yourself.

But there's the thing, you're comparing two different kinds of xenophilia. In one, both parties are overcoming a variety of innate tribal instincts to withdraw from the unfamiliar - often very successfully, I don't want to suggest that xenophilic relationships are fundamentally flawed, or on unsure foundations, of course. When an asari's involved, those instincts are only operating one way - and attraction is almost always an interaction, what one feels and expresses is affected and informed by what the other feels and expressed.

Nothing works on everyone. I know plenty of straight humanoids who show no interest in asaris for instance.
But then again it's just a theory. I'm sorry if you find it offensive, but the way I see it it's not more offensive than the idea that we can be attracted to someone because of pheromones.

@Asari Promiscuity : It may seem strange from an asari point of view, but for other species the idea of someone humanoid being attracted to non-humanoids, even sentients, like elcors, is almost ludicrous. I mean I'm sure that there a few non asari humanoids out there who find elcors attractive, but they're a minuscule portion of the population. This is not meant to be offensive, since the opposite would hold true. I know that there is no amount of social conditioning that would make me find an elcor romantically attractive, no matter one's mastery over social cues.

Yes of course, I mean what on earth could be offensive or unpalatable about the idea that the asari perpetually mind molest everyone they talk to until we develop sexual Stockholm syndrome, or that one can casually describe an individual's personal preferences are overwritten by said physic fondling and find nothing wrong with it.

But then again, slaver who seals his "products" in gimp suits so I have no idea why I expect anything better from you in either intellectual or moral terms.

You assume there is an elcor in existence that would reciprocate. Standards my dear Bintar standards.

Other people have them.